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What is Probate to an estate owner?
Probate is the legal transfer of your properties from your name to your heirs’. This is important for you to be aware of in order to have your affairs in order before your passing.

Dealing with death is not an ideal situation for the surviving relatives members, which is why it is important to make the necessary arrangements to facilitate the transfer of your estate to your relatives.

What is Probate to the surviving relatives members?
This technique actually proves to be disadvantageous to your relatives because it causes delay in transfer and it also happens to be costly.

What is Probate to lawyers?
As a general notion, lawyers love probates because they get to charge a lot more in billing hours. In some States, the lawyers handling the probate of your estate are entitled to as much as 8% of the total amount of assets. This is certainly not a lovely prospect for your surviving relatives members.

In order to have a better and faster transfer of your properties to your heirs, make sure that you explore any and all options that will prove to be more favorable on their part. What is Probate?- Learn About it Today

Mortensen Law
Tax, Trust & Estate Attorneys, P.C.
24300 Town Center Drive, Suite 390
Valencia, CA 91355
(661) 799-8035
(661) 799-8838 fax

Why People Avoid Probate. Probate court was set up for very noble reasons — it aims to protect the interest of a deceased person’s surviving family members by validating the authenticity of his last will and testament. People, however, have taken to avoiding the probate process for three major and very valid reasons: money, time and privacy.

On the issue of money, take not that probate costs a considerable amount in court costs and attorney’s fee. In Valencia, California alone, a person could lose 4-8% of the value of his estate in probate. The second deciding factor — time — also shows a large discrepancy when comparing the probate process to the distribution of a person’s assets through other means. Probate usually takes several months and sometimes even a year or more. On the other hand, there are ways of settling one’s estate that only takes a few weeks to complete. Finally, people take privacy into consideration. Probate is a public process, which means that probate documents are readily accessible to the general public. Most individuals want to keep their financial transactions to themselves.

Because of these concerns, many have learned to appreciate the value of setting up a living trust. While this move does not allow them to avoid all estate taxes, it costs much less then probate in the long run. And because it is a private transaction, it falls outside the control of probate; hence, a trustee can execute the stipulations of the trust without having to report to probate court. Although this process is more financial rather than legal in nature, it is still advisable to consult a lawyer before and during the process of setting up your trust.

Mortensen Law
Tax, Trust & Estate Attorneys, P.C.
24300 Town Center Drive Suite 390
Valencia, CA 91355
(661) 799-8035
(661) 799-8838 fax

What is Probate? Simply put, probate is the legal process of settling a deceased individual’s estate. It is provided by the court in order to confirm the validity of the deceased person’s will and involves the distribution of his property according to the stipulations of his will. It is a service meant to protect the interest of surviving family members who have legal claims to the estate and also protects the executor of the will from the possibility of lawsuits questioning the will’s authenticity and validity. Why then, do most people want to avoid the process?

Probate normally lasts at least six months and sometimes, even over a year to complete. It could also involve a hefty amount in court and attorney’s fees. Probate in Valencia, California for instance, probate fees of 4-8% of the value of an individual’s property is assessed; and for people with a significant amount of property, 4% is not a negligible amount. In addition to these hassles, people tend to be wary of the fact that probate documents are accessible by the general public. Hence, they find ways to avoid probate in order to save time and money as well as to protect their privacy.

One of the most common ways to avoid probate is the execution of a living trust. This means transferring the ownership of your property to a trust that you can revise or revoke at any time. At the time of the trust grantor’s death, ownership of the property held in trust is transferred to the beneficiaries.

Setting up a living trust involves considerably less expense than probate does and the distribution of property among the beneficiaries only takes a few weeks as opposed to months of probate. Settling your estate in this manner could also help you avoid payment of certain estate taxes.

Mortensen Law
Tax, Trust & Estate Attorneys, P.C.
24300 Town Center Drive Suite 390
Valencia, CA 91355
(661) 799-8035
(661) 799-8838 fax

Probate Versus Living Trust. Would you rather have your estate go into probate at the time of your death, or are you going to set up a living trust in order to avoid probate? It may be best to consider the pros and cons of both processes before making a decision.

Probate is a legal process that aims to protect the surviving family members who have a legal claim to a deceased person’s properties. It is the process of settling the estate by first validating the authenticity of the last will and testament of the deceased and distributing his properties in accordance to that will.

A living trust, on the other hand, is the act of transferring ownership of one’s properties to a private trust, which will still remain under his control and may be revised at any time he deems necessary. In the event of his death, ownership of the properties held in trust is automatically given to the beneficiaries specified in the trust.

The choice between probate and living trust is primarily affected by three factors: money, time and privacy.

Probate is expensive. In Valencia, California alone you could be required to pay statutory fees of up to 8% of the value of your estate. In addition to this, there are still attorney’s fees to take care of. Setting up a living trust may be less costly in the long run since the process does not involve such a high amount in fees. It does not, however, save you from having to pay estate or inheritance taxes.

A probate may take at least six months, which could take a considerable emotional toll on the heirs. In comparison, properties held in a living trust could be distributed in a matter of weeks.

Probate is a public process and anyone can have access to information about the deceased and his family. On the other hand, a living trust is a private matter and does not fall into the control of probate court, hence only your lawyer and heirs will have access to all information.

Now that you have compared and contrasted the two processes, you are ready to make your decision and rest assured that your loved ones will have less of a burden in the future.

Mortensen Law
Tax, Trust & Estate Attorneys, P.C.
24300 Town Center Drive Suite 390
Valencia, CA 91355
(661) 799-8035
(661) 799-8838 fax